A new Tunisian human rights activist harassed at the Tunis-Carthage airport
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network is deeply concerned about new harassment and intimidation of Mr. Anouar KOUSRI, lawyer and Vice-President of the Tunisian League for Human Rights and a member of the EMHRN Working Group on Freedom of Association.
On Sunday 29 June 2008, returning from an Amnesty International press conference in Paris on the application of the law against torture in Tunisia, Mr. Anouar KOUSRI was sequestered during two hours and assaulted by police forces at the Tunis-Carthage international airport.
In addition to passport and luggage checks, he was ordered to enter an adjoining room to undergo a humiliating full-body search, which Mr. KOUSRI refused, especially as the other travellers were not subjected to such treatment. After being forced to stay in a customs area for more than two hours, he was physically assaulted and then brought to a windowless room by plainclothes policemen where two customs officers tried to undergo another full-body search, but without success. The following day, on Monday 30 June, a score of plain-clothes officers were deployed in front of his home in order to force him to explain himself after the speech he gave during the press conference in Paris.
The EMHRN is particularly concerned as this kind of harassment has become a general pattern of intimidation of Tunisian human rights defenders when they leave or return to their country[1]. For the third time in less than six months, the EMHRN urges the Tunisian authorities to:
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Put an end to harassment, intimidation, threats and attacks against human rights defenders in accordance with the provisions of the UN General Assembly Declaration on Human Rights Defenders of 9 December 1998;
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Respect the fundamental freedoms of Tunisian human rights defenders, notably their freedom of movement, expression and association;
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Comply with the provisions of Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights « Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests »
The EMHRN also invites the decision-making bodies of the European Union to:
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Uphold the international human rights pledges as found in the Barcelona Declaration to which Tunisia has committed itself;
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Ensure that Article 2 of the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement, as well as the European Union Guidelines on human rights defenders are respected.
